


All Paths Lead Back To You

by BleedingInk



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, F/M, Meg Masters in a Wheelchair, Season/Series 15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26044636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingInk/pseuds/BleedingInk
Summary: Sam and Dean catch wind that Castiel is trying to bring a demon out of the Empty
Relationships: Castiel/Meg Masters, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester & Castiel & Jack Kline
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57





	All Paths Lead Back To You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [diablo77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/diablo77/gifts).



> Written for the birthday of my good friend Gabe! Happy birthday!

The wheels of the Impala screeched as they stopped in front of the abandoned convent. It was rundown and deserted, as it had been for almost ten… eleven years now. Sam remembered having walked down its halls, his veins pulsating with the power of the black blood he’d consumed, so full of arrogance, breaking through the ranks of the demons trying to stop him with the confidence that he was doing the right thing. He remembered the despair that had cut to his very soul when he’d realized the terrible mistake he had made.

Dean put a hand on his shoulder, startling him.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Yes,” Sam said. He had to take a deep breath before he could make his voice sound firm enough as answered: “I’m fine. I just can’t believe Cas is really going to do this.”

“Well, you know him,” Dean said, with a frustrated sigh. “He really thinks keeping his word is more important.”

“I still think we can talk to him,” Sam said as Dean picked up the duffle bag from the backseat. “We can explain…”

“Sam, he knows what that bitch put you through and he’s still going to bring her back,” Dean interrupted him. “I love the guy, you know that, but who better than us how hardheaded and stupid he can be?”

“That doesn’t mean we have to go in guns blazing!”

“No, of course not. Guns are not going to work on him.” Dean smirked at him and handed him an angel blade.

Sam stared at him, hesitating before grabbing it.

“We’re not going to hurt Cas.”

“You think I _want_ to hurt Cas? Nah. These are in case he succeeds and brings Ruby back, so we can send her right back into the Empty. This time, I’ll hold her while you stab her.”

It sounded reasonable and there was nothing that Sam would have liked more. He grabbed it, reluctantly, and tucked it away inside of his jacket.

“Promise we’re going to try and talk to him first.”

“Fine,” Dean said, with a huff that indicated he didn’t think “talking” was going to work.

If it was up to him, they would just walk in, interrupt whatever it was that Cas was doing and drag him to the bunker to shout at him that this was one of the worst ideas he’d ever had, second only to the time he tried to become God. And it wasn’t that Sam was in disagreement with that, it was just… he was still in denial. He couldn’t understand that Cas would betray them like that, that he would do all of this just to bring back someone who had hurt Sam so much. Yes, maybe she wouldn’t have that power over him this time around, or no power at all given that Rowena was running Hell and Lucifer was long dead. But that didn’t mean Sam wanted Ruby just walking around the Earth.

Clouds of dust raised as they walked inside of the monastery. Parts of the ceiling and beams had fallen and, in places, the entire walls had collapsed. Sam imagined having Lucifer break through those floors had shaken the building like a small earthquake. It was quite impressive that the ruins had remained intact. There weren’t any graffiti on the walls or abandoned bottles of liquor, the clear signs that some vandals would break in and spend time there. He wondered if there was something in the air of those ruins, something that kept people away and wary of them. He definitely felt the goose bumps growing on his skin, but he couldn’t tell if it was because of the place itself or because of his personal history with it.

Dean stumbled upon something that rolled away from them. When they looked down, the beam of their flashlights revealed a yellowing human skull.

“Well, that’s picturesque,” Dean quipped.

Sam glared at him, and took a step forwards, but from one of the destroyed halls, a figure emerged. Even before they pointed the light at him, he already knew who it was.

“Jack.”

Jack stood in front of them, blocking their path. His jaw and fists were clenched, but Sam knew him well enough to read the expression on his face with ease. He was scared.

“I can’t let you go through, guys,” he said, but there wasn’t any confidence in his voice. “Cas told me…”

“Jack, Cas is trying to do something very dangerous,” Sam pointed out. “We’re here to stop him.”

Jack hesitated.

“He told me he had to do this,” he said, but his voice sounded weak. “That I couldn’t let anyone interrupt.”

“Do you have any idea what he’s trying to invoke in there, kid?” Dean asked. “Has he told you?”

“He said he had to honor a deal.”

“He’s trying to bring a demon out of the Empty,” Dean explained, with his usual bluntness. “You know that ain’t right.”

Jack hesitated. He looked down at his shoes for another moment and then raised his eyes at them. The veins under his skin started glowing golden.

“I can’t let you go through.”

Dean tightened his grip around the flashlight and Sam knew that he was ready to draw his weapon or to try to take a swing at Jack. The only reason he hadn’t done it yet was because he knew, as well as Sam and Jack did, that it would be useless.

“Jack, listen to us,” Sam said, trying to use his calmest tone. “You know Cas became obsessed with this after his journey to the Empty. It’s not safe. He needs our help.”

Jack took in a deep breath. He looked so desolated, like he was about to break down crying. It happened a lot to him since he’d recovered his soul. The glow under his skin died out as he let out a soft, broken sob.

“Do you think you can get him to stop?” he asked, in a whisper.

“We’re going to try,” Sam promised. “Let us through.”

Jack lowered his hands… and stepped aside, freeing the way towards the chapel. Where Sam had broken the last seal and brought Lucifer back. Where they had killed Ruby for her betrayal.

“Please, hurry,” Jack whispered in their wake.

Sam felt the power of the ritual even before they stood in front of the closed doors. The air cackled with a strange energy and there was white light flashing shining through the cracks and the unhinged doors. Castiel’s voice came from the other side, reciting an Enochian spell in monotonous rhythm.

Dean made a gesture that signaled they should both go inside at the same time. Sam bit his lips and nodded. Cas sounded so entrenched in what he was doing he figured they were too late to have a rational talk anyway.

The doors cracked as the burst them open. Sam barely had time to register what was going on inside of the chapel (the symbols drawn around the crater of what was left on the floor, the black candles burning, Castiel kneeling in front of it with his arms extended like a supplicant) before a force sent him flying across the room. He crashed against the wall, his feet dangling over the air. The flashlight and the angel blade slid from his hands and clattered on the floor. He heard Dean cursing somewhere to his left, indicating he was similarly trapped.

Cas continued reciting, like the Winchesters’ presence changed nothing. Sam waited until the air was back on his lungs before he spoke.

“Cas!” he called out. “Stop it! Don’t do it, please!”

Cas’ voice died out. He didn’t lower his arms, but it was as his entire demeanor slumped.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand you’re trying to bring back some skank from Hell?” Dean spat out, furious. “No, of course we don’t understand!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Castiel replied. “You’re too late.”

“Cas, no!” Sam begged. “We can still stop this!”

“It’s done, Sam.”

Sam held his breath as it filled out with a viscous black liquid, so slowly it seemed like it was never going to reach the edge. But as he struggled and called out Cas’ name, as Jack barged in and froze on the doorway, as Dean cursed some more and screamed out, the liquid kept rising to the point where Cas could finally sink his hands up to the elbow on the liquid.

“Jack, stop him!” Dean demanded. “Stop him, right now!”

Jack looked at him and then at Sam. Sam struggled to move his body, to give him a nod. Jack stared ahead, at the back of Castiel’s head and took a step towards him…

“Don’t come any closer Jack, unless you want to send me tumbling into the Empty again,” Castiel warned him.

Jack stopped, tears running down his cheeks.

“I don’t want that,” he said. “But this isn’t right.”

“It’s over,” Castiel repeated. His hands were still sank in the black liquid, and he moved them around like he was blindly searching for something. “It doesn’t matter. You won’t have to see her after tonight.”

“Cas!” Sam screamed.

A white hand rose from the liquid and grabbed unto Castiel’s elbow. The angel leaned closer, almost like he was going to jump into the pool with it, but instead, he started pulling back. The power that kept Sam pinned to the ceiling died off and he collapsed on the floor with a grunt of pain that echoed Dean’s. Jack was at his side in a matter of seconds, grabbing unto his hand and helping him to his feet.

“What do we do?” he asked, with a desperate whisper.

As an answer, Dean took out another angel blade he’d kept hidden in his boot.

Before he could move forwards though, before they could call out for Castiel again, the black liquid receded and disappeared as Castiel stood up, holding an inert body in his arms. Sam managed to see a round face and long, dark blond locks falling down before Castiel moved away from them, shielding her with his body into a different corner of the dilapidated chapel.

Dean stepped closer, but Sam put a hand on his shoulder to keep him in his place.

“It’s not Ruby,” he mumbled.

“What?”

There was a deep gasp, followed by a husky voice muttering:

“Castiel?”

Dean’s eyes opened wide in shock.

“Cas, what did you do?”

Castiel didn’t bother answering them. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her body.

“It’s okay.”

“Clarence,” she said, and then louder and urgently: “Crowley. He was here. The Tablet…”

“It’s alright,” Castiel repeated. “You don’t have to worry about any of that.”

He stood up with her in his arms again. She grabbed unto his neck with one hand, while holding unto the trench coat with another. When he turned around, she frowned at them.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asked. “And who’s that one?”

Jack glanced at Dean and then at Sam, alternatively, obviously waiting for a cue from them. Dean slowly lowered the blade. Sam breathed out in relief. Of course. He should have known all along Cas would never do something like that to him. Not again.

“Hello, Meg.”

* * *

“When I found out there was a possibility to break a demon out of the Empty, I knew I had to try it,” Castiel told them later on when they were sitting back in the Winchester’s motel room. “I couldn’t just leave her there. Not after everything she did for me. I know you don’t approve of what I’ve done…”

“No, dude, that’s not it!” Dean said. “Look, I’m super happy you got your girlfriend back, but you could have told us! We thought you were trying to summon Ruby!”

Castiel frowned at them as if Dean had just suggested he chewed glass.

“Why would I do that?”

“You… said you made a deal with her?” Jack reminded him. “In exchange for the Occultum’s location?”

“Yes, well… I said what I needed to say at the time to get us closer to our objective.”

“So… you lied.”

“Of course I lied. After what she did to us, what she did to Sam…” Castiel shook his head. “I can’t believe you thought I would even consider breaking her out.”

“Yeah.” Sam rubbed at his face, feeling stupider than he had in a very long time. “I’m sorry we thought that, but when we heard you were heading to St. Mary’s…”

“I needed a place where the veil between worlds was weak for the spell to work. I understand the place holds some upsetting memories for you. That’s why I didn’t bother to explain myself. I see now that was a mistake and I apologize.”

“Alright, yeah, that’s all fine and dandy,” Dean said. “But Cas… you really need to communicate with us, man. These are dangerous times. We can’t be mistrusting one another like this.”

“Yes. You’re absolutely right.”

Dean sighed and leaned back against the wall.

“Well, I’m glad we sorted that out.”

“But… Meg,” Jack intervened. “She’s still a demon.”

Sam exchanged a look with Dean, who shrugged, and then he looked at Castiel. He didn’t know how much he’d told Jack about her, or if he’d told her about her at all. Castiel rarely, if ever, mentioned Meg to them, but Sam knew he still used the alias “Clarence” now and then, especially when he felt lost or alone. It made him suspect that, though he’d never said it, Castiel never talked about Meg for the same reason Sam never spoke about Jess.

“She’s different,” Castiel replied.

“How so?”

“She’s, uh… one of the good ones,” Dean said, and immediately grimaced after those words left his mouth. “Ugh, I hope she didn’t hear that.”

“I heard that!” Meg replied from inside the bathroom.

Castiel immediately stood up to go to closed door.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine,” Meg replied. There was a strange tone in her voice and Sam immediately understood why: “I… I think there’s something wrong with my legs, though.”

“What about them?” Castiel asked.

“They don’t seem to… be moving right now.”

Castiel opened the door without any hesitation.

“You don’t have to do that every time!” Meg complained and when Cas stepped out, it was obvious what she meant: he’d picked her up from the floor again and was carrying her towards one of the beds. “Seriously, Clarence…”

“Lie down.”

“Not that I’m complaining, but here? In front of everyone?”

Dean rolled his eyes and Jack tilted his head, confused. Sam couldn’t hold back a smile. It was a relief to know, in the horrible times they were having, that some things simply never changed.

“I want to try and find out what’s wrong,” Castiel explained, not even registering Meg’s innuendo. “Please, Meg?”

Meg let out a huff, but she did as Castiel had said. He’d brought her a pair of jeans and boots, the kind she would usually wear, along with a new white blouse that Meg pulled up to reveal her stomach. There was a round scar over her skin, the size of a quarter. Cas placed his hand over it gently and the white light of his power touched her. Meg jumped and gasped, like she’d been stung, and Castiel moved his hand away immediately.

“It’s from the wound Crowley inflicted on you, I think,” he explained. “The power of an angel blade on a demon would leave a permanent mark even if it hadn’t killed you. You might be able to heal from this overtime, but…”

“You’re not sure,” Meg said. She sounded annoyed. And maybe… a bit sad? Sam had never been good at reading her and he suspected that was by design.

“I mean, can’t you just get out of there and found you another meatsuit? One with functioning legs?” Dean suggested.

“What do you think I was trying to do in there for the last fifteen minutes?” Meg said. “I was gonna come back,” she added quickly when Castiel frowned at her. “But no, it seems like I can’t just leave this body. Bright side, I think you can’t exorcize me either.”

“Shame,” Dean said, clicking his tongue. “I was gonna try, for old time’s sake.”

“Amazing. I was dead for seven years and you didn’t get any wittier.”

Sam chuckled to himself. Meg turned her eyes towards him.

“What’s funny, Sasquatch?”

“It’s good to have you back.”

He didn’t realize how much he meant it until the words left his mouth. They had been on a losing streak for so long (Chuck, Rowena, Eileen…) that it felt nice to have an ally, a friend, with them. Even if it was Meg. He imagined it felt ten times better for Castiel, even though the only sign he gave out was a soft smile in his lips and the way he placed his hand on Meg’s shoulder. Like he needed to keep touching her. Like she would disappear again if he stopped.

She must have noticed how strange that comment was, because she crooked an eyebrow.

“What the hell happened to you, guys?”

“You know what? We should let Cas catch you up to speed,” Dean said, moving away from the wall. “Sam, Jack, let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” Jack asked.

“To get Meg some wheels so Cas doesn’t have to carry her around everywhere,” Dean replied. “Some burger and beers, too. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“Sounds good,” Sam agreed, standing up. “See you guys in a bit.”

Jack seemed reluctant to stand up, but he did in the end and followed them outside to the parking lot.

“Is this a good idea?” he asked, before he got inside the car. “To leave him alone with… her?”

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean shrugged, which meant he was leaving the explaining to Sam.

“Meg is someone who was very important to Cas, Jack,” he said. “And he was important to her. You don’t have to worry about him.”

Jack looked at the door and didn’t move to try and open the door even when they called out to him.

“Come on. I’ll let you drive,” Dean said, dangling the keys of the car up.

“Really?” Jack asked.

“Yeah. Let’s just give Cas a break. He deserves it.”

* * *

They remained sitting on the bed side by side, not really speaking or looking at each other, until they heard the sound of the Impala’s engine extinguishing in the distance. Castiel let the tension on his shoulders relax. He hadn’t even realized how on edge he had been all this time, ever since he’d felt Meg’s hand grabbing at him from beyond this world and he knew that his spell had worked.

He turned towards now.

“Meg…” he started.

She didn’t give him the chance to go on. In the blink of an eye, her hand was placed behind his head and she was pulling him in towards her.

He didn’t stop her. He had no reason to. A part of him knew this would happen as soon as they had the chance to be alone, that it would be the first thing she’d want to do. Because Meg wasn’t great with words and he wasn’t great with feelings, so this was how they let each other know everything someone else might have expressed out loud.

How much they’d missed each other.

How happy they were to be in each other’s arms again.

The taste of her lips was warm and familiar, ashes and fire in his tongue. A wave of excitement went through Castiel, sinking from his skin into his bones, deep within him, rousing his grace, the very thing that made him who he was. She pulled him down on the bed with her, letting him slid his hand under her blouse, her fingers playing with the buttons of his shirt.

If he could dream, if he could imagine a moment of peace, of happiness, it would have to have been this…

He broke away from her, his breathing fast and shallow. She still had her arms wrapped around his neck. Her long blonde hair was spread on the pillow, her eyes were dark and eager. She tried to kiss him again, but when he wouldn’t budge, her lips twisted up in a gesture of disappointment.

“What’s wrong, Cas?”

The way she pronounced his name, so soft, sent a shiver down his spine.

“We can’t… we can’t do this…” he mumbled, weakly.

“Of course we can. They’re going to be gone for a while.” She placed her lips against her ear to whisper: “I want to thank you for bringing me back.”

She nibbled at his earlobe and tried to pull his trench coat down his shoulders. It would have been so easy to give himself up to that feeling, to sink into it, to let Meg drag him away from all his worries and fears…

He hid his face in her neck. He didn’t know why that made it easier to say what he had to say than looking at her in the eye.

“This is why it let you go.”

“What?” Meg pushed him away and stared at him with confusion in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

Castiel sat back up. He pulled her up to his lap, to hold her as close as he dared to.

“Do you remember where you were? Before I woke you up, before I pulled you out of there?”

Meg stayed quiet for a very long time.

“No,” she said, in the end. “I remember Crowley stabbing me in the gut. And then you were holding me. I didn’t even know any time had passed.”

Castiel studied her face. It was impossible to tell if she was lying or not, but whichever the case was, it didn’t change anything.

“The place where angels and demons go when we die is called the Empty,” he told her.

He explained everything to her. About Lucifer, about Jack, about his deal with the Entity that ruled that place or was that place. About Chuck and the state of Heaven and Hell and what Sam and Dean were trying to do now with Billie’s help. Meg listened to him patiently, only interrupting him to ask more clarifying questions, to make sure she was understanding everything correctly.

After he was done, she stayed quiet for a very long time.

“So you’re saying if we recreate the babysitter and pizza man scene, you will be so happy you might die?”

There was sarcasm in her voice and Castiel couldn’t help but to laugh.

“I have missed you so much,” he told her. “I still can’t believe you’re here with me. And I want to be with you, Meg, I want it more than anything… but there’s so much I have to do still, for Sam and Dean, and for Jack…”

“How the hell did you even manage to piss off God himself?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “No, don’t answer that. I should have known it was just a matter of time.”

“I’m sorry, Meg,” Castiel said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Why did you bring me back then?”

“I couldn’t leave you there.”

“Yeah, but there’s a high chance God might nuke this world at any given moment,” she pointed out. “And you’re not willing to risk getting sent back to the Empty until that is solved. Why bring me back now? Why not wait until you’ve dealt with Him?”

It was a more than fair question. Castiel had to think about it for a moment.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t have the chance later on,” he explained. “I’m sorry. I had to… I know it was selfish of me, but I had to see you. At least one last time.”

“You think you might die fighting God,” Meg said. It wasn’t a question. “Yeah, okay, that’s not entirely impossible.”

“But even if I don’t, my deal with the Entity will still hold.”

Meg hummed and lean down to leave a kiss on the edge of his lips.

“We’ll have to find a way around that, then.”

Castiel blinked at her.

“What?”

“We’ll find a way around it,” Meg insisted, running her fingers through his hair. “Every deal has a loophole, Clarence. We’ll find it. And we’re going to stay here, or we’ll back go together.”

“Meg…” He shook his head. “You can’t…”

“Of course I can. Why would I want to stay if you aren’t here with me?”

He didn’t know what to say to that. He just held her as tight as he dared. His lips found hers again, and his fingers tangled in her hair…

“Alright,” she said, pushing him away, gently. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, baby.”

“I guess you’re right.” He pressed his face against her chest and breathed in deeply. No, it wasn’t perfect and there were still many things they needed to figure out. But for now this was more than enough.

“So what do we do now?” Meg asked, after a while.

“I guess… we could talk.”

“Talk,” she repeated. “Some more, you mean.” She chuckled and escaped her arms to lie back down on the bed. “Alright, then. What have you’ve been up to, other than picking up fights with things bigger and more powerful than you?”

Castiel settled down by her side and placed an arm around her shoulders.

“I watched the movie.”

“What movie?”

“ _True Romance_. I know why you call me Clarence now,” he said, smiling proudly.

Meg opened her mouth, then closed it again. She threw her head back and laughed before snuggling closer to him on the bed.

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s exactly the movie I was referring to.”

* * *

The TV showed an old movie none of them were paying attention to. Castiel was just happy to lie there with her, her breathing on his neck and petting her hair. Meg kept her eyes glued to the screen, but every now and then she moved her fingers up and down his arm, his neck, his chest. It was as if with those lingering touches, she wanted to reassure him, and herself, that they were there and they were together. To face whatever may come.

There were three knocks on the door. Castiel already knew who it was on the other side before Dean spoke up:

“You guys decent?”

“Me? Never,” Meg replied. “But our clothes are on, if that’s what you mean.”

Dean cracked the door open an inch and peeked inside, perhaps to make sure that Meg was telling the truth. Castiel and her sat up as Dean walked inside, followed closely by Jack and Sam, who came in pushing a wheelchair.

“People at the hospital told us is not really meant for long term use,” Sam explained as he placed it on Meg’s side of the bed. “But it’s the best we could find on short notice. We might be able to get you something more sophisticated later.”

Meg moved herself from the edge to the bed into the chair. She settled into it. A slow smile spread to her face.

“I think I can work with this,” she concluded. She grabbed unto the wheels and turned around. “So where are those beers you mentioned?”

Jack settled them on the table. He still seemed wary when Meg rolled her chair over towards him.

“I don’t bite, kid,” she told him. She cracked open a beer with the edge of the table and handed it to him. “Cas told me you haven’t had the best of experiences with demons, but let’s try and be friends.”

Jack hesitated, but in the end, he stretched his hand and received the bottle.

“Thank you,” he said. “Umh… Sam and Dean said you’re Castiel’s… girlfriend.”

Castiel choked on his beer and Dean let out a laugh that conveniently transformed into a cough in a second flat.

“I guess you can call it that,” Meg said, amused.

“Well, then, I guess we can be friends,” Jack conceded.

“I’ll drink to that.” Meg extended her beer and held it up until Jack clanked it against hers.

“Great.” Sam opened the paper bags they’d brought along and started passing the burgers around.

Meg and Castiel really didn’t need to eat, but they sat down with the rest of them, close to each other. Meg left her hand on the armrest of her chair and didn’t move it away when Castiel placed his on top of it.

“That one is mine,” Dean complained.

“No, that’s yours,” Sam assured him.

“You took mine. Give it back.”

“This is a veggie special, you don’t even like that.”

“Well, then, who took my cheeseburger?” Dean asked and glared at Jack, who had just bitten into his.

“This isn’t it,” Jack said.

“Don’t talk while you’re chewing,” Castiel chastised him.

“Someone stole my burger!” Dean insisted.

“I wonder who could do such a nefarious deed,” Meg commented.

When Castiel lowered his eyes, he noticed the burger’s container resting on her lap. He covered his mouth with a hand, to conceal his grin.

Yes, tomorrow they would have to continue fighting. There was a lot they needed to figure out yet. But that night they could steal for themselves.


End file.
